New Swiss Watchmaking Hallmark

February 1, 2005byWilliam George Shuster

The “Qualité Fleurier,” a new hallmark for the quality and accuracy of fine watches, was unveiled in Switzerland on Sept. 27.

Unlike two other Swiss quality seals already in use (“COSC” and “Poinçon de Genève”), the “Qualité Fleurier” will be available to any European watch brand meeting its strict criteria and apply to both the movement and components of a watch. Currently, the “COSC” certificate of the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute is only for Swiss-made watches whose movements qualify as chronometers. The “Poinçon de Genève” (Seal of Geneva) applies only to mechanical movements made by watchmakers in Geneva, Switzerland.

The new seal was created by a private, independent group set up in September 2001, called “La Fondation de laCertification Qualité Fleurier” (or Qualité Fleurier Foundation). The strict criteria to qualify for the new imprint were developed by a technical committee of independent experts of various watch firms.

The Qualité Fleurier group’s aim is to establish technical and aesthetic criteria for watchmaking “according to the finest principles of haute horlogerie.” It also seeks to encourage technological innovations that make “a positive contribution to the quality” of fine watches and promote the watchmaking heritage and expertise of the Fleurier region.